The little TV screen you stare at during flights, particularly long haul ones, is pretty boring. It’s either a movie you’ve already seen, or a digital rendering of the plane on a map/globe.
You could make the flight way more interesting by having a series of camera feeds the passenger can switch between, which show the pilot’s eye view, the straight-down view, the view from the tip of the tail, looking downward and towards the nose, so you can see your plane like in a video game, etc.
The only reservation about this would be the effect it might have on people with a fear of flying. Or if something minor goes wrong that is seen by a passenger and then assumed to be catastrophic and causing panic. But it would be worth the risk, the views would be insane. They could even build in touch-screen functionality or a mechanical button which will send a high-res screenshot to your phone via Bluetooth or something.
Lots* of long haul inflight entertainment systems have this feature.
* I don’t have an objective number but I’d say over half the long haul flights I’ve been on in the past 5-10 years. I’d guess I average about 4 a year.
Oh damn, I haven’t been on a plane in 22 years so I probably should have checked before posting 😂 That’s cool to hear!
You weren’t wrong. It’s a fantastic feature, especially for takeoff, landing, and my favorite taxiing to the jetway. (It can be pretty boring on long haul flights mid-flight though)
It can be buried deep in the menus but definitely worth looking for next time you fly…
I know some planes have this now, particularly the A350, but it looks like many newer widebodies at least have it as an option but it’s up to the airlines if they want to give the feeds to the passengers.
They have that for landings and departures on some planes.
Modern long haul jets do have this. It varies from jet to jet.
Most of the time I have seen tail fin looking forward, nose looking forward, and front landing gear looking down.
